Wealth and spending patterns in China : Empirical evidence from household surveys

Economic reforms and the subsequent growth in income have brought great changes in the distribution of wealth and consumers’ behaviour in China. In particular, the emergence of the “new rich” has important social and economic implications for China as well as the rest of the world. Examines the level of wealth and spending patterns in Chinese households, and more particularly aims to investigate the level of affluence and consumption patterns of China’s new rich. The main issues dealt with include the assessment of China’s per capita income; the spending patterns and sources of income of the new rich; consumption patterns of Chinese rural and urban households; and international comparisons of household consumption patterns.